Guard's Rebellion
by Vexenna
Summary: This is the unknown story of Layla, a former Krimzon Guard and unwilling participant in the Dark Warrior Program. Follow her as she and Jak try to save Haven City. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

You probably thought Jak was the only living specimen of the Dark Warrior Program. That's not true. You probably didn't notice me in the background. I was in the same predicament, in fact, Jak and I shared the same cell in the prison. We learned a lot about each other… not really. Mostly we tried to keep each other from going crazy. Jak doesn't talk much, but he did write out his name for me in the dirt in our cell. The only sounds I've ever heard from him were screams of agony from the Baron's experiments, though I'm pretty sure mine echoed his. Most of the time I rambled away, talking about anything and everything when I wasn't too exhausted or agonized from the experiments. It may sound crazy, but just Jak's presence made a difference. He may have been a silent companion, but he made everything survivable, just barely. I bet you're wondering who I am just about now. I guess I'll have to tell you sooner or later.

I was a grunt in the Krimzon Guard. I was on the war front, shooting Metalheads and doing basic soldier stuff. I was one of the few grunts that survived past their first year, and went on to survive many more. I was usually one of the only ones to survive a raid on a Metalhead nest or a mission into Metalhead territory. When the Baron came around the barracks, looking for volunteers to help with a new weapon development, I was one of the first to jump at the chance. I'd had enough of killing off Metalheads and almost being killed in the process. When the other recruits and I made it to what we believed was the weapons vault, we were attacked by fellow guards and subjected to this torment. Most of the others died off straight away, not being able to handle the dark eco being pumped into their systems. The few of us that lasted longer either went insane or became uncontrollable monsters that had to be "terminated" or "taken care of", as Erol put it. I was the only one who went mostly unchanged. I had a few blackouts, but those were common over the course of my imprisonment. I caught a few of the experimenters whispering about me, not very quietly, I might add. They were saying things like, "Uncontrollable" and, "Much too strong". I tried to figure out what they meant by this, but was stumped. Then one day they brought in a kid. He was small, tan and had blonde hair with green roots. His bright blue eyes were filled with fear and it wrenched at my heart. They started to experiment on him as well. Seeing this from my cell, I went nuts. It was the first time I stayed conscious throughout one of my changes and I figured this was what happened when I blacked out. I was horrified at the results.

I became a monster, a freak, something that went against nature. My skin turned an unnatural shade of bluish grey and my fingers changed into claws, ones that could rip out a man's heart. What little of my hair I could see had turned silver, with dark purple edges. I could feel the bite of fangs on my lower lip as well. My mind warped along with my body, becoming dark and twisted. When I was that monster, all I wanted to do was hurt the men hurting the kid. I wanted to rip their hearts out and shove them in places better left unsaid. As they noticed this, they decided to use the kid against me. Only experimenting on him when they knew I was watching or was even conscious. Any time I got really angry, I would change into the dark monster. That kid grew up to be the young man sitting beside me today. It must have been the dark eco, because he matured and grew up fast these last two years. He had even grown a green goatee. I chuckle, maybe a little maniacally, at the memory of him growing facial hair. He reminded me of my little brother. I guess he wouldn't be so little anymore, seeing as two and a half years have passed as I've rotted away in this hellhole. But they both had that determined gleam to their eyes, the one that told everyone else they could do anything, and would.

I play with the ends of my hair. It used to be brown, with blue tips. Now it's grown so long it reaches the backs of my knees and it doesn't just end at the blue. It starts off brown, fades into blue then fades again into the same dark purple of the dark eco running through Jak and I's veins. That wasn't the only thing that had changed. My canines had grown longer, like my fangs never really wanted to go away. And I saw that my eyes had darkened from light teal to a darker hue when I caught my reflection in a piece of metal. My skin has also gotten really pale. Not being able to see the sun has really taken its toll on my heart. I don't even fight the guards anymore, I've just given up. They drag me out of my cell, pump some more dark eco into me, make me mad enough to morph into the monster, and then throw me back into the cell once I've calmed down and reverted back to normal. It's pretty much the same process with Jak, but he never changes, he always either passes out or just lays there in a stupor. I'm glad he doesn't change. I wouldn't wish this curse on the Metalheads. This day is like any other, Jak is herded from the cell and strapped down to the table, then loudly experimented on. But something isn't right. I hear a voice I haven't heard for over two years. My long, tattoo covered ears twitch at the sound of it. I look and see it's the Baron.

"Huh, nothing!" he says in disappointment, "I was informed that this one might be different!"

"He is surprisingly resilient to your _experiments_ Baron Praxis," Erol says, sounding like a complete Captain Obvious, "I feel the Dark Warrior Program has failed" The Baron growls.

"You should at least be dead with all the dark eco I've pumped into you!" he says, grabbing Jak's hair. Jak just tries to focus his eyes, but the Baron lets him go and returns to talking with Erol.

"What now? The Metalhead armies are pressing their attacks!" Erol informs the Baron, "Without a new weapon my men cannot hold them off forever!"

"I will _not _be remembered as the man who lost the city to those _vile creatures_!" The Baron yells, I smile at his discomfort, "Move forward with the final plan. And finish of this… _thing_ tonight."

"As you wish," is all Erol says, "I'll be back later" He says this to Jak. I hear footsteps approach my cell. The Baron stops at the edge of the door and looks in at me and my sorry state. I send a glare in his direction, putting every ounce of hate and rage behind my eyes that I have. He just smiles.

"And you say this one is too willful? Too disobedient?" Praxis says, almost tauntingly. A snarl rips out of my throat as I lunge for his, morphing halfway between where I was sitting and the bars. He takes a step back before my claws can close around his throat. I snarl again.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" I scream, for once the words coming from me instead of the monster. The Baron looks back at Erol once more.

"As you can see…" Erol says, lifting a hand in my direction to emphasize his point.

"This one is defective as well. Have them both terminated tonight." Erol nods and the Baron walks away, leaving Erol behind. He sends me a smug look, rubbing in the fact that there are bars between us.

"I can't wait for our _date _tonight," he wiggles his fingers at me before leaving this section of the prison. I tear out a chuck of the concrete wall before morphing back to normal. I feel drained, and doomed. I get to be killed tonight, by the guy that used to have a crush on me in boot camp! Ugh! Erol made it obvious from the beginning in the Krimzon Guard Training Camp that he found me attractive, but I shunned him, not wanting a relationship, especially with him. Ever since he was promoted quickly, he's had it in for me. He sent my units on the most dangerous missions, into the most infested territories and to the most hazardous zones, just to see me squirm. Unfortunately for him, I actually paid attention in boot camp and survived all the missions. I sit down with my back at the wall and just stare into space. _This is just great! I survive through all the hell Erol's put me through, only to die like a defective lab experiment. Heh, well technically I am… _I think to myself. My ears twitch again as I hear another voice from the prison.

"Ding, ding! Third floor…body chains, roach food, torture devices," it says, sounding male, but off somehow, "Hey buddy, see any heroes around here? Whoa! What'd they do to you?!" I look through the bars to see an orange weasel wearing goggles and fingerless gloves standing on top of Jak's stomach. The weasel is the one talking. _Holy Precursors!_

"Jaaak! It's me, Daxter!" it says. _How the hell does this thing know Jak?! How did Jak ever make friends with a talking weasel?!_ Jak glances up at "Daxter" before lying his head back down on the table. I know how he feels, those experiments just drain the energy right out of you.

"Well that's a fine hello! I've been crawling around in this place, risking my tail-literally-to save you!" Daxter complains, "I been lookin for you for two years! Say something! Just this once!" Jak all of a sudden jerks up.

"I'm gonna kill Praxis!" he yells in anger. It's the first time I've heard Jak talk! _I thought he was a mute_! Daxter shushes him, covering Jak's mouth with his paw.

"Right now we gotta get you outta here," Daxter says, "Just let me figure out how to open the security locks-" Daxter is cut off and thrown from the table as Jak morphs into the very same monster that I do after every experiment. He breaks through the restraints easily, sending them flying. He looks like me when I've changed. Grey skin, silver-grey hair, long claws. I don't get a good look at his face, but I do see small horns in his long hair. _Did I ever grow horns?_ I think to myself, totally not helping the situation. Daxter shies away from this terrifying version of Jak.

"Or, uh, you could do it," He looks terrified, and I feel the same way, but probably for different reasons. I'm just terrified that Jak has finally turned into this monster. I never wanted this terrible curse for him. I thought his body was just absorbing the eco then letting it dissipate, but I guess I was wrong. Jak rolls off the table and approaches Daxter, looking like he's gonna attack him. I jump up and run to the door, but my throat constricts any words I was going to say.

"Jak… Easy now, easy buddy. It's your old pal Daxter! Remember?" Daxter's words seem to reach Jak's reasonable side, the non-monster side. Jak stops himself from goring Daxter and stumbles, morphing back into himself.

"Daxter?" he says in a haze.

"What the HECK was _that_!?" Daxter yells, "Sheesh! Remind me not to piss you off! Come on tall, dark and gruesome. We're outta here. I, uh, brought you some new threads, put 'em on." Daxter says as he leaps up on Jak's shoulder. Jak walks out of view, probably going to change.

"Come on, Jak, let's get outta here. This place is givin' me the creeps!" I hear Daxter say.

"Hold on a sec, Dax. There's someone I gotta see first," Jak says. This is the most I've heard him say yet! Jak shows up at the bars to our cell wearing a blue shirt with white pants and brown boots. There is a large, silver ring in the middle of his chest, held there by three thick, leather straps. He's also got large, dark blue gloves and a shoulder plate of armor, which Daxter is currently standing on.

"Hey, Jak, who's the incarcerated hottie?" I'm not sure what surprised me more. The fact that Jak had a talking, orange, pet weasel, or that the weasel knew the word "incarcerated". Jak looks at his friend in surprise, probably thinking the same thing.

"Dax, meet Layla, Layla, this is Daxter," Jak introduces us. Daxter looks me up and down, giving me the creeps, and then stands on the barred window of the cell door.

"Well, what's a cutie like you doin' in a dump like this?" He flirts and I raise my eyebrows in surprised amusement.

"Being tortured," I reply tersely and look back at Jak, "Go, get out of here and take the Baron down, I'll be fine." Jak just shakes his head.

"You'll be dead," he replies, "Just hold on a sec while I find a way to open this door."

"Ya know, I didn't plan on bringin' along no chick," Daxter says, "But why don't we try this?" He fiddles around with the wires of the electronic lock, popping the mechanism open.

"How did you do _that_?" I ask incredulously. Dax just smiles and jumps back on Jak's shoulder.

"I got skills, hot stuff. Come on Jak, let's get outta here." Dax says, looking around for guards.

"Yeah, let's go," Jak agrees and I giggle. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised in question.

"This is the first time I've heard you speak. It's kind of weird." I explain and I see Jak nod. We set off finding an exit through the air vents, accidentally setting off an alarm. But we've got no time for that, we've got to get out. I never realized it before, but for a couple of people who just spent two years in prison, our motor skills work astoundingly well. It's like I just got out of training camp. Maybe it's the dark eco, or maybe it's just muscle memory, though I'm leaning towards the former. I see a couple floating, metallic eggs and pick them up. They might be useful.

On the way, Jak becomes silent and withdrawn again, being very serious as well. He ignores most of my attempts at conversation, Daxter occasionally sending me flirty looks and trying to talk romantically. Seriously, he's a weasel, how would that work out?! After Jak and I skirt around a large crane, thing, I find a storage room. _Jackpot, _I think to myself, _now I can get some real clothes and maybe some armor. _I grab a light blue sweater that folds down at the collar to cut across my shoulders, a pair of royal blue pants, with a leather belt, and a pair of sturdy brown boots. I also find a good pair of blue-grey metal shoulder plates, quickly strapping them on, the leather straps crossing in front of my chest. I find a decent pair of thigh guards as well, matching in color and a pair of goggles that I use for a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes. I strap the armor to my belt and my leg so they stay on my thighs instead of flying all over when I run. I grab a bag and fill it with useful things like rags, extra clothes, a map of the prison (after I study it), a pair of gloves, a holographic map of the city, even rations that were just sitting around. I exit the room to receive a wolf's whistle from Dax and a kind look from Jak.

"What, no weapons?" Daxter says after taking in my appearance.

"This is a prison, not an armory," I say as I roll my eyes, "They keep the weapons elsewhere. Let's go. I know a way out." Jak follows me, jumping up some transport crates being held in the air by more cranes. When we reach the platform at the top, there's a ledge that's really high. Jak immediately walks over to the side, crouches down and then jumps with all his strength. He grabs the edge and pulls himself up.

"Wow. Since when can you do that?" I ask, looking up at him. He just grunts, avoiding my question. I sigh and follow his lead, crouching then jumping. I almost reach the top, but I fall backwards, reaching for anything to grab onto. Jak grabs my hand and pulls me up before I can land back on the floor.

"Thanks Jak. That's twice you and Dax have saved my life," I smile, getting a small smirk out of him. We turn the corner to find a Guard running towards us. I quickly vaporize him, giving him a good kick to the face, followed by a punch to his sternum. _That felt really good._ I think with a smile.

"Ooh, cutie got skills!" Daxter says with a growl.

"Yeah, skills enough to take out KG's and _weasels_," I say, giving him a wolf's predatory grin. Daxter gulps and Jak chuckles a little.

"I'll have you know, I'm an ottsel!" He says with false bravado. I laugh and continue on with Jak by my side. We jump up and run across a moving platform to the next area. Jak takes out the Guard this time, vaporizing him easily. We come to a gap between floors that's only accessible by swinging on a pole and jumping at the right time.

"I got this one," I say with a smile and quickly jump to the pole, swinging around once and leaping off to nail the landing on the higher platform. Jak follows suit and we continue our escape. We walk down the path and jump to and from another moving platform to reach the next hallway. Jak and I find a couple of crates. I break one open and he does the other. Inside are globs of dark eco that suddenly absorb into our bodies. I shudder.

"I hate that stuff! Yuck!" I say, noticing the two Guards coming straight for us. Jak takes care of the closer one while I take care of the one behind him. We reach a gap that's too large for a normal jump, so Jak and I roll into it, pushing off at the last second to rocket ourselves across. Then we do the same at another pit. We reach a room with grates for floors and the Guards shoot at us through said floor. I just want to point out now, the KG has either gone very slack in their training, or they're desperate for soldiers. I only get grazed in the shoulder by a lucky shot and Jak narrowly avoids one in his head. Other than that, their aim _sucks_! I reach the dead end before Jak and wind a rag around my bleeding wound. It's minor and will probably heal in the next couple of days. Jak catches up and looks for an exit. I look down to see a very flimsy piece of flooring that I used to come across in my soldiering days. I catch Jaks attention then jump on it with all my force, breaking through to the level below. Jak jumps down next to me and leads the way down the hall. We jump another gap and take out two more guards. I bash through the floor and start sliding down a tunnel into a room filled with water. Jak flies out of the tunnel and lands on top of me, pushing me under the water. I come up hacking, trying to get the water out of my nose and lungs. Jak smirks and I just glare at him.

"Come on, there's probably a door around here somewhere." I look around and notice another egg. So I pick it up and stuff it inside my bag. Jak finds the way out and I join him. We jump up some stacked boxes and out a door. The KG has got to hire a better architect. The door was halfway up a wall and I was lucky I landed on my feet!

"We're free! All thanks to me. Nice to breathe some fresh air, huh?" Dax says, totally hamming it up.

"Who's the one who knew the way out?" I chide.

"Yeah, but I busted you two out!" Daxter retaliates. I have to give up on that argument. Jak walks down the street with me by his side and Dax on his shoulder. I know this section of the city. It's the Slums. Most of the worse-off families live here, and so did I. Though the air still stinks like a yakow's butt, it feels nice to be home. I think about what my family would be doing at this moment. Had my brother joined the Guard like me? Has my mom's stall near the Arena gotten any better business? I sigh and continue to walk through the Slums next to Jak and Daxter. We pass an old man and a child on our way, but the old man catches Jak's arm, stopping us both.

"Hello strangers, my name is Kor," he informs us, "May I help you-" Jak cuts him off, getting into the old man's face.

"You look like a reasonably smart man. I want information," Jak grabs the front of the old man's robes, "Where the _hell_ are we?!" Daxter jumps off Jak's shoulder, landing next to the kid.

"Eh, sorry. He's new to the whole 'conversation' thing," he says, the kid reaching out hesitantly to pet Daxter.

"_Jak_," I warn in a low tone of voice. Jak lets Kor pull himself away from him.

"Well my angry young friends," Kor says, wiping off the spot where Jak grabbed him with the back of his hand, "You are a _guest_ of his _majesty_ the Baron Praxis, ruler of _glorious_ Haven City." Sarcasm drips off Kor's lips, something I can relate to.

"Oh, so we were just _guests_ in the good Baron's prison?!" I ask angrily, not liking this situation at all. Kor looks at me with sad, ageless eyes.

"Inside a cell or inside the city, walls surround us both," he informs us with a bleak tone, "We are all his prisoners." _Here's a man who gets things around here._ I think to myself. The child scoots closer to the old man, still looking at Daxter curiously. I feel bad for the child. Having to grow up in the slums with who I assume is his grandfather. His parents must have either died, or maybe they had enough children and shoved him off onto Kor. The child notices me staring and gives me a hesitant smile. I return with a small one of my own. I snap back to reality to hear Kor's worried tone,

"-ove on if I were you!" he ushers the child to get behind him and walk away. I see Krimzon Guards walking down this street, rifles out and looking lethal.

"By order of his Eminence, the Grand Protector of Haven City, Baron Praxis," the lead Guard says. _Now that's just a bit overkill, don't you think? _"everyone in this section is hereby under arrest for suspicion of hiding Underground fugitives. Surrender and _die_!" _What the fuck?! Since when does the KG make group arrests and executions in the same minute?! What the hell has the Baron done with the Krimzon Guard?!_ I think as Daxter approaches the lead Guard.

"Excuse me sir, don't you mean 'Surrender _OR DIE'_?!" he yells.

"Not in this city,"Kor informs us, "Protect us from these Guards and I'll introduce you to someone who can help you two." I look at Jak and raise my eyebrows in question. He nods and we quickly jump into the platoon of Guards, hacking and hitting everything that comes within range.

In the midst of battle I feel a tingling and slightly burning sensation in the pit of my stomach, something I've come to dread. It's the dark eco making itself known and I can't do anything to stop it. If I do stop to calm down I'll be impaled or killed by a KG. I feel myself morph into the dark monster and I see Jak do the same. It takes everything I have to keep the monster from attacking the nearby citizens. As Jak and I attack the Guards with a savage fury, purple electricity flows off of us and attaches itself to the Guards, making one heck of a lightshow. My claws impale several Guards, vaporizing them into oblivion, Jak does the same amount of damage with his. When we run out of Guards to kill the monsters inside us go back to lying dormant again. I stumble a little at the sudden change. Jak just looks angry and slightly in pain.

"That was _cool_!" Daxter says, making me want to wring his furry little neck, "Do it again!"

"Something's. Happening to me. Something he did," Jak says, looking barely in control of himself, "I can't control it!" I lean against a wall so I can get my balance back. It feels as if every time I change, I become, not only stronger, but also more savage. It scares me that I've become such a monster. I can't control it any better than Jak. It took every ounce of my own willpower to keep the monster inside me from attacking innocent citizens. Jak looks at me with those bottomless indigo eyes and I simply shake my head in shock.

"Very impressive…" Kor says ponderously, "What the both of you did was very brave. This child is important." Kor gestures at the little boy. He hides behind Kor's robes before I can really study him, hiding from me and Jak. I push off the wall and stand next to Jak.

"This kid?" Daxter asks, "He looks kinda scruffy." Daxter messes up the little boy's hair and displaces his cap. A Guard flies over to us in one of the big Hellcat Cruisers and tells us to move along.

"Thank you for your help," Kor says, nodding at both of us, "But I must get this boy to safety." Kor turns to leave and Daxter opens his mouth to say something, probably something stupid, but I shut him up by shoving him behind me with my foot.

"Kor," I say politely, "You said something about introducing us to a friendly face?" Kor looks a little taken aback at my soft words, but he nods, remembering his promise.

"There's an underground group waging war against Baron Praxis," he says the name with disgust, "It's leader, The Shadow, could use fighters like you. Go further into the Slums and find a dead-end alley near the city wall. Ask for Torn. He can help you."_ Torn?! When did Torn quit?! Or is he a spy? Just what the hell has been going on these last two years?!_ Kor walks away with the little boy. I look at Jak.

"Well? Ready to become fugitives and rebels?" I ask, maybe a little sarcastically. Jak smirks and nods. "Let's go find a Zoomer. I think I know what alleyway Kor's talkin' about." Jak follows me while I look for an unmanned Zoomer, there are usually a ton just lying around in the streets. I find one of my favorites, the blue and yellow model and I hop on, Jak sitting behind me and Dax on my shoulder.

"Let's ride sweet-cheeks!" he says excitedly. I chuckle and hotwire the vehicle, getting it to start with a puff of smoke and a roar of the engine.

"Hold on tight boys," I say with an evil chuckle and I zoom off into the Slums. Jak's hands tighten around my waist and Daxter whoops in excitement, clinging to my shoulder plate.


	2. Chapter 2

I speed through the Slums on the small Zoomer, dodging people and switching hover zones as needed. Daxter clings to my shoulder plate and Jak holds onto my waist for dear life. I laugh as Daxter yells at every switch of the hover zones. I hear Jak laugh behind me, despite the wind whistling in my ears, fully enjoying the ride. We pull up to the alleyway Kor told us about and I park the Zoomer, jumping off and smiling at Jak.

"Next time, I drive," he says, walking down the alley with Dax and me right behind him. A blonde girl stops us by standing in our way. She looks menacing, or would, if she were wearing something other than a pair of short-shorts… and was taller than my nose... A taller man with KG tattoos and red dreadlocks steps out next to her. _Holy __**shit**__! It __**is**__ Torn!_ I think in surprise, _and I thought Kor was just confused with names…_

"We're looking for a guy named Torn," Jak informs the blonde, "Kor sent us… um…" Jak falters as Torn gets in his face, totally ignoring me.

"Are you… Torn?" Jak asks but Torn just studies him, analyzing him like an unknown enemy back in boot camp. Daxter jumps from my shoulder to his, looking from Torn to Jak.

"Maybe this guy's a mute, like you used to be…" Dax trails off.

"New faces make me nervous," Torn finally says, backing up and still ignoring me, "Word is you're out to join the fight for the city. You know, picking the wrong side could be… unhealthy." _Had news of us really traveled that fast? It only took about twenty minutes for us to get here._

"We want to see The Shadow," Jak states and Torn chuckles darkly.

"Not likely. If you want to join something, why don't you and your pet go join the circus?" Torn teases, "Heh, unless you got the fur for a really tough task?" Torn grabs a curved knife from a sheath on his back, silencing any protest from Daxter about being called a "pet". Torn looks up, running his finger over the edge of the dagger, finally noticing me. He jumps a bit, recognition flashing in his dark blue eyes and cuts his finger slightly. He quickly gains control over himself and looks back at Jak and Daxter.

"The three of ya steal the Baron's banner from the top of the Ruined Tower and bring it back to me. Then maybe we'll talk," Torn throws the knife into the air, spinning, and catches the handle expertly. I scoff a little at the trick. He always used to love showing off, I guess Torn hasn't changed too much. Jak turns and walks towards our Zoomer, passing me. I give Torn a two-fingered salute and a sarcastic smile before joining Jak and speeding off towards the Ruined Palace.

We get to the city doors in no time at all with Jak's speedy driving. We exit the city and enter Dead Town. I've been here a few times for rifle training. It's the perfect place since the old Tower is crumbling away and the whole place has become a ghost town. The only things living here now are Znorkle Tooths and the little green dinosaurs that I've heard other Guards call Glubs.

I grab my gloves from my bag and put them on. I don't really feel like getting my hands scuffed up for a stupid banner. We head out into the dead city and take out a few Glubs before running into the first Znorkle Tooth. Jak quickly punches it, but doesn't notice that it didn't die, so he gets hit in the back of the head by its long tongue. I laugh a little and Daxter scolds him before he takes it out.

"Always watch your back, Jak," I say with a small laugh, "Never know when an enemy will surprise ya." He just gives me a look and we continue on our way. I take out the next two Znorkles and he and I climb up the crumbling buildings to get to the Tower. We continue along the dilapidated structures, killing more Glubs and picking up health packs. One thing I noticed when the creatures died, they leave behind dark eco and it usually absorbs into both Jak and I's bodies. It's unsettling considering what we've been through, but Jak just keeps on going like nothing's wrong. I don't like the feeling of the dark eco getting under my skin, but I can't do anything to stop it. It's like my body attracts it. Yuck!

We eventually arrive at a bridge that will take us to the side of the tower so we can climb up the outside. Jak runs across easy peasy, but when I reach the middle it collapses on me. The only reason I'm not face-first in the acidic water is because of my instinct to grab onto things when falling. I dangle from the edge of the part of the bridge that didn't collapse and let out a sigh of relief. I look up at Jak and Dax, who are looking down and smiling at my pitiful situation.

"A little help?" I ask angrily, but Dax just laughs and Jak smirks, "Fine. I'll do it myself." I growl and haul myself up in the ledge.

"Come on guys, let's get that banner and get out of here before someone gets crushed," I say and take the lead. Jak follows close behind and we jump from ledge to ledge, quickly because some of them give out beneath our feet. A few times we have to swing from flagpoles to get to the next ledge but eventually we reach the top. Jak grabs the banner and Daxter does a victory dance, shaking his tail in the air. I laugh and pat Jak on the shoulder.

"Come on tough guys, let's find a way down," I turn to go back the way we came but a rumbling sound stops me in my tracks.

The platform beneath us gives way and the three of us fall along with it. Jak and I bounce off a veranda, up into the air and onto a wire. Jak slides down it on his feet, but I'm not so lucky. I had to grab it and now I'm zip-lining down it and my gloves are starting to smoke. I land on a small spit of land next to Jak and Dax lands in a heap next to us. I blow on my gloves to stop the smoking. _Good thing I put them on, otherwise my hands would be burned pretty badly_, I think to myself as I look at my gloves. _Totally ruined, great…_ I peel them off with a scowl and look back at the Tower. A deep rumble comes from the Tower as it collapses into further ruin. I turn back to Torn and smile at his dumbstruck face. Jak plants the banner in the ground with a small victory pose.

"Yeah, I guess you guys are in," Torn says.

"Torn, we need to talk," I say, becoming serious. He shakes his head.

"Later. Meet me back at the hideout," he says and walks away, leaving us with a pointless banner and a bit of confusion.

"You know him?" Jak asks.

"Old friend," I simply reply. Daxter picks himself off the ground and jumps back on Jak's shoulder. I take the lead and head back to the gate. We reach it quickly with no more creatures to take care of and head back into the city. The computerized voice tells us it's good to see us alive and I chuckle at the message.

"I'll drive this time," I say with a smile aimed at Jak and Dax. I steal a Zoomer and Jak and I reach the base shortly, only having run over one citizen. He was chunky so I probably didn't do too much harm. I enter behind Jak and take a seat on one of the beds in the small room. Jak stands next to Torn near a table covered with various maps and notes.

"Whew! Bein' a biiig hero, sure makes ya thirsty," Dax says as he walks over to a pipe in the wall. He pulls the lever to let the water flow, but an ominous rumble sounds instead.

"Uh, Dax? You may-" I get cut off before I can warn Dax about the mud that just spewed into his face. Dax coughs most of it up and turns back to Torn.

"The _Baron_ turned off all the water to the Slums," Torn informs us. _That __**bastard**__! I am soo gonna kill him next time I get the chance. If I can beat Jak to it, _I think with a scowl, "He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives just to destroy the Underground. I shouldn't be surprised," _No, no you shouldn't,_ I quickly think, "I've seen his evil before, while serving in the Krimzon Guard. That's why I quit." He turns back to Jak and me.

"_You_ were a Krimzon Guard?!" Jak asks in shock, "Heh, well I guess that explains your… charming sense of humor." I snort and laugh a little at Jak.

"Yeah Jak, you don't just get the face tattoos for fun," I say with a chuckle, pointing at my own. Jak smirks and turns back to Torn, who's giving me a glare.

"My friend in the Guard tells me the valve to turn the water back on is located _outside_ the city, at the Pumping Station" Torn says. I get up from my seat, intrigued by where this is heading.

"Outside the city?" Jak asks, "What about the security walls?"

"What about the _Metalheads_?!" Dax interjects, "It aint no pettin' zoo out there. Peeps be gettin' deep sixed!"

"Daxter I have, literally, no idea what you just said," I say, but Dax ignores me.

"Find the large drain pipe in the North Wall," Torn says, interrupting me, "It'll take you outside the city to the Pumping Station. Get to the main valve and open it. If you survive, the Slums will be indebted to ya. If not, maybe we'll have a touching moment of silence in your honor."

"I'd like to give him a _touching moment_." Dax mumbles, making me laugh again. Jak turns to leave with Daxter on his shoulder but he stops short and looks back at me.

"Layla, you coming?" he asks but I shake my head.

"I have to talk to Torn about a few things. But here," I say as I toss him the holo-map. "This should get you there." Jak nods and heads out. I turn back to Torn.

"Okay Torn. I think I deserve an explanation," I say icily, "What the _hell_ has happened the last two and a half years?! The KG now can't even hit the broad side of a barn and they don't give a shit if a citizen gets run over! When Jak and I escaped the Prison there was a platoon sent to arrest and execute innocent citizens for _suspicion_ of hiding fugitives! _Suspicion_! And what happened to you?! You were on your way to becoming Commander when I last heard of you! What the _fuck_ happened while I was imprisoned?!"

Torn sits calmly through my tirade and gestures for me to sit on the map table. I plant my feet and cross my arms, still stubborn for my answers. Torn pushes off the table and walks over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders, pushing me down on one of the beds. He pulls up a chair and sits next to me, a sad look in his eyes.

"Layla, it's been a while," he says, "And you're still as stubborn as ever." He chuckles in the way that says he doesn't really feel happy, "The Metalheads are getting stronger and the KG needs as many soldiers as they can get on the front lines. So they don't spend nearly as much time training them anymore. They give them a gun, tell them enough about it so they don't shoot themselves and send them out into the warfront. The ones patrolling around the city are a few of the better ones, earning safety inside the walls. Ever since around the time you disappeared, the Baron's been losing. The Metalheads are winning more ground and battles. Ever since the Baron started treating citizens and soldiers as expendable, I quit and joined the Underground. Praxis must be taken out of power if the city is ever to survive this war. We have to get the power back to the House of Mar." Torn sits back and studies my reaction.

"The House of Mar? I thought they'd all been wiped out," I say softly, "And the Metalheads? Why are they getting stronger? When I last saw you at boot camp I never took you for the deserter type, but considering who the Baron really is…" I trail off, looking into Torn's dark blue eyes. He sighs and shakes his head sadly.

"I was just as surprised," he says, "But once I found out about all the changes in Guard training and the unjust laws being put in place, I quit. Erol took my place and he's been in charge for a while now."

"Yeah,_ that_ I know," I say quietly. Torn looks back at me.

"What happened to you? I tried to keep track on you and your squads, but with Erol being the general mission handler I couldn't. I heard you died in an explosion at a Metalhead nest." Torn says with concern, "And where'd you get the scars?" He points to the two white lines going through my right eyebrow and over my tattoos.

"Well the scars are from a sneaky Metalhead. He jumped me before I could get my rifle up," I chuckle at the memory of the botched sneak attack, "But as for what happened… Precursors Torn, it was horrible! The Baron came around the barracks looking for volunteers for a weapons testing and development. I volunteered because I wanted a little time off from the constant killing and danger… But when the rest of the Guards and I got there, they ambushed us…"

I tell Torn the rest of the story, including my transformation, but I leave Jak's out. It's his secret and I won't tell without his permission.

"Dark eco?!" Torn yells, "What was he thinking?!" Torn paces back and forth across the room.

"Yeah well you didn't have to have it injected into you!" I yell back. Torn looks back at me with concern in his eyes but they quickly harden.

"Well I'm glad you're alive," Torn says, "But why? Why did you and Jak survive when everyone else died?"

"Fuck if I know Torn," I say angrily, "I'm just glad I'm out and helping you instead of six feet under. Heh, they probably wouldn't have even given me that. They'd probably have just dumped me in the Sewers." I scowl and get off the bed. I walk over to Torn and stop his pacing with a hug, startling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm glad to see you alive, Torn," I say, "You were always there for me in boot camp and you even helped out when you knew you'd get in trouble too. You were always kinda my big brother, huh?" I smile at him and he lets down his guard just enough to squeeze my shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess I was," He says and I step back, back in soldier mode, kinda.

"So what's the next move Commander?" I say with a small smile and a mocking salute. Torn gets back to his guarded self and turns back to the table.

"Go find Jak and help him out if he hasn't found the valve yet. Then bring your butts back here," Torn says seriously, "I've got another mission for you two."

"Three technically," I say quickly, "And if you hang over that table all the time you're gonna get a hunchback!" he throws a glare at me and I laugh as I jump out the door. I take my second holo-map out of my bag and grab a small Zoomer to make my way to the Docks.

I enter the Plumbing Station and walk towards where I can see Jak's footprints lead. I take out a couple Metalheads and grab their skullgems before I hear a pitiful whine from a nearby pipe, stopping me in my tracks.

"Jak, help…" I hear, "Jak, please… help…"

"Oh my Precursors! Daxter!" I shout and try to find a way to open the pipe. I find a valve and twist it hard to the right. Jak comes up behind me and watches Daxter' s head pop out the pipe. I run to help him and I pull his arms when they pop out as well. The rest of Daxter blasts out of the pipe with a burst of water, smashing him into my stomach and dousing both of us with water. I fall backward and Dax lands on my stomach. Jak crouches next to us and opens his mouth to say something, but Daxter cuts him off.

"Don't say it," he says, Jak looks barely able to contain his laughter, "Don't even chuckle! Next time, _you_ turn the valve!" Daxter collapses on my stomach and I can't contain myself any longer. I laugh hard, bouncing the ottsel on my stomach and Jak joins in with a chuckle. He picks up Daxter, helps me up and we make our way back to the city. When we exit the gates I take a look at the holo-map and notice a strange icon sitting in the corner of the Docks.

"Hey Jak, look at this," I say, showing him the weird symbol, "It's near, you wanna check it out?" He nods and we travel the docks until we reach a small, concrete house with a thatched roof.

"Looks kinda ominous," I mumble as we walk into the building. The inside is filled with candles and a rug down the center of the room. Right in the middle, at the back, is a glowing Precursor, oracle statue, its eyes and what appears to be its mouth, glow a sharp blue.

"_Greetings Dark Warriors_," a deep voice says. It doesn't come directly from the statue, but from inside my head. "_I sense there is a dark rage burning inside of you, and in time, it will destroy you both with its madness. Only the last power of the Precursors can save you. Destroy my enemies, those creatures you call the 'Metalheads' and bring me twenty-five of their skull gems and I will teach you how to control these powers._" I stare wide-eyed at the statue, not believing what I've heard. I glance at Jak and he looks similarly stunned.

"_Before you leave, a parting gift, young warriors,_" it says and I feel as if something in my mind clicks into place. It's a strange feeling, like I've remembered something long forgotten, yet I can't think of what it is. I look at Jak to see a puzzled expression on his face that probably mirrors mine. I look back at the statue. It's still just sitting there like any other oracle statue, but it just feels… I don't know… warmer? It feels like the statue actually wants to help us.

We exit the hut and make our way around the Docks once again. We don't take any Zoomers from the waters, mostly because we're trying to figure out what the Oracle did to our minds.

"You feel any different?" I ask Jak but he shakes his head, "That was really weird… How many skull gems we got?" Jak takes the skull gems he collected from his pockets and counts them as he adds them to my bag.

"I've got ten," he says.

"Well then we've got twelve 'cause I got two before I had to pull Daxter out of that pipe," I say with a chuckle and Daxter grumbles to himself. We get back to the Slums and I hotwire another Zoomer, quickly driving us to the Hideout. For the first time I really notice the spray-painted symbol on the front door. _Real subtle Torn, real subtle,_ I think with a scoff. We enter and descend the stairs, Torn stands over his table with what can actually be called a smile.

"The Slum's water is back on! I'd love to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out!" Torn says. Jak just looks unimpressed.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's losing lots of sleep over this 'arm-pit' of the city," Jak says rudely. I slap him upside the head and he gives me a look that says, 'what the hell did I do?!'

"Show some respect, it may be the Slums, but it's my home," I scold like my mother, "It's a lot of people's homes." Jak just look back at Torn and fixes him with a glare.

"When do we get to see the Shadow?" he asks. Torn's smile is quickly wiped off his face and he glares at Jak.

"_When_ I say so, _if_ I say so," he responds, "But before I even think about it, I want you to take care of an ammo dump we've I.D'd in the Fortress. Lots of Krimzon Guards, constant patrols. We know it's vulnerable, and the Underground needs _you two_ to blow up all the ammo you find inside." Torn spreads his arm across the table and knocks Daxter over in the process.

"Get all of it, and we'll deal a body blow to the Baron," Torn's wolfish grin makes a return as he says this.

"You're sending _us_ in, Tough Guy!" Daxter says peevishly, "So what's with this '_we'll_ deal a body blow' stuff?" I grin wickedly at Daxter.

"That's fine, Dax," I say, "I want Praxis to know it's his little _experiment_ ruining his plans. Aint that right Jak?" Jak's blue eyes dance with a dark light and he nods in agreement. Jak and I head out of the Hideout and grab a couple Zoomers to speed towards the Fortress. We arrive quickly and I put in the code Torn's birdie gave him and the door slides open.

Inside is a large red security tank, rumbling away, its spiked wheel turning slowly. I shudder at the image of it squishing and grinding me to a pulp that worms its way into my head. Jak and Daxter check out a blue glow at the back, but they return to tell me it's a doorway that's blocked off.

"Great," I grumble, "If we go through the only door that's open, we'll probably set off an alarm or something." Daxter gulps but Jak's face remains passive.

"Well then what's stopping us?" he asks.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the giant red tank with the massive gun and even bigger spiked wheel-o-death," I say sarcastically.

"Oh come on, it's probably slow," he says with a smirk, "We can outrun it."

"Jak, why the hell do you think they put that there in the first place!" I quietly shout, "This is a fucking ammo dump! They're not going to use second rate security tanks!" Jak just gives me a look and passes through the open doorway.

"_Unauthorized use of Fortress door_," the computerized voice stops Jak in his tracks, "_Activating Security Tank._"

"Way to go Jak! I told you so!" I shout as I dodge the bullet fired at me. I run towards Jak and grab his hand, pulling him to escape from the freaking tank.

Jak and I have to jump from platform to platform whilst dodging bullets to get to the hallway. Before I can sigh in relief the stupid tank busts down the apparently flimsy wall and continues to shoot at us. Good thing there's two of us, otherwise I would have probably been hit a few times. It seems to have difficulty telling us apart, shooting at Jak while trying to aim at me and vice-versa. I notice the red beams scanning the floor at ankle level.

"Jak jump!" I yell as one approaches his leg. Luckily he heeds my warning and I jump behind him, still running from the security tank. After dodging laser guided rifles and the tank, Jak and I reach the end of the hall. I climb up a stack of boxes and swing around a pole to reach the second level catwalk, Jak and Dax right behind me. For now we're safe, the metal wall protecting us from the bullets and the tank. Two rotating turbines are spinning in the room and I just jump to the first platform when the tank busts through the second wall to enter the room we're in.

"Why won't this thing fucking quit!" I yell in frustration and Jak jumps behind me to land on my platform. I quickly search for a way out and notice a locked door to the right, buzzing with electric sparks. I see the sparking glass tube in front of me and remember the lesson in engineering we had at boot camp. Glass usually means power storage, and power storage being destroyed means no security lock!

"Jak, destroy the glass tube on this thing and I'll get the other!" I yell over the noise of the tank. When a platform from the other turbine comes close I jump over to it and then the middle, kicking out the glass tube. I hear Jak's shatter and I hear the familiar whine of power loss. Jak joins me and we quickly jump through the open door.

We enter a room with two lines of transport platforms moving opposite directions and I start to laugh. Daxter gives me a 'this chick is crazy' look and Jak looks at me with concern.

"Oh my Precursors! I haven't had an adrenalin rush like that in forever!" I say as I calm myself, "Man that was intense!" Jak shakes his head and continues with me following. On the other side of the moving floors are two Guards and we quickly take them out. We weave through the grate-like walls and across the moving floors multiple times, taking down Guards as we go.

We reach a portion of the Fortress with spikes coming through the floors at regular intervals. Jak takes his time walking across, timing out the perfect steps before taking out the two Guards on the other side so I can cross. I dash across when both rows are down and make it with ease. Same thing with the next set, except one of the spikes comes up a little early and snags the side of my pants.

"Damn," I say as I wipe away a small bit of blood. Something about it isn't right… it's too thick… and dark. I shudder at this revelation of the dark eco experiment, but Jak's already moved ahead. I join him as he busts through a flimsy piece of flooring and jump down beside him.

We walk down a conveyer belt and leap across another transport platform to reach the other side of this floor. I quickly smash open a crate and find a health pack. Damn I love these things! They heal some of the most gruesome injuries in seconds! I watch my cut heal up and I remember the one on my shoulder from when Jak and I escaped the Prison. I remove the rag I tied around it and see that nothing is left of the bullet graze. Jak impatiently taps his foot and I merely chuckle at his hasty nature.

"Come on toots, by the time you're done checkin yourself out the Guards will be back!" Daxter complains and I just send him a glare to shut him up. Jak and I enter the only door in this room and find ourselves inside the ammo storage room. It's filled top to bottom with barrels of unknown contents and bombs. My fingers itch to find a rifle, a sword, a knife, something! But it's nothing but bombs and barrels. I sigh in disappointment and join Jak where he's stopped by a smaller barrel. He picks up a small, red, electronic card.

"Cool! That's a Security Pass," Daxter says, leaping up onto my shoulder, "We'll need those to get through the city checkpoints."

"Praxis has set up checkpoints?" I ask and Daxter gives me a look that says, 'Duh!'

"Yeah, they're everywhere," he says. A loud clang reverberates nearby and Jak quickly shushes us. I lead them to a vent in the floor and we spy through it. Two KG and a couple Metalheads are talking! _Why are there Metalheads in the city?! What the hell is happening?!_ I quietly think.

"These barrels are the latest shipment of eco. The Baron says take them and get out!" the lead Guard says, motioning with his rifle. The Metalheads growl at the Guards, but they just point their rifles at them. Jak and I get off the floor and look at each other.

"Metalheads in the city?" he says incredulously.

"What the hell are they doing giving them eco!?" I say a bit loudly. I hear an all too familiar crank of a security tank starting up. I look to the right to see one just lying there, its gun swiveling to point at Jak and me.

"How did we not notice that?" I say and Jak pushes me out of the way before a bullet lodges itself in my brain.

"I'll distract it, you figure out a way to destroy the ammo!" I yell and get the tanks attention. _I am now purposely aggravating a security tank… where did I go wrong?_ I think sadistically as I run around the room, dodging bullets.

"I can't destroy them!" I hear Jak yell. I scowl, but an idea pops into my head. _Let's use their strength against them_.

"Jak! Step away from the bombs!" I yell and dive behind a cooling duct for the bombs. This thing keeps them non-lethal, but I guess we'll just have to arm them.

The tank shoots the one I'm hiding behind and I quickly dash to the next one. Jak catches on to my plan and he uses the tanks bullets to destroy the third one. Jak and I meet up at the fourth, waiting for the tank to come around the bomb.

"When this thing is destroyed, we've got seconds to get out of here!" I yell over the tank, "Run like your ass is on fire to that door!" I point to the door that's to our left. I feel the rumble of the tank getting closer and it blows up the last cooling duct. I shove Jak in front of me as even more alarms go off. A computerized voice tells us to leave immediately. Just as Jak and I reach the open door, an explosion tears through the room, shoving Jak, Daxter and I through the door out onto the streets. We bounce of someone's roof and I land heavily on top of Jak. I groggily roll off of him and shake the black spots from my vision. Daxter pops out from under Jak.

"This place has too much excitement ," he says with an exasperated breath, "We need to move back to the country." I laugh at the ottsel and Jak just gives him an 'Oh well' look.

"Come on," I say as I try to dust the soot off my pants, "Let's get back to HQ. I need some sleep. Three missions in one day… that's gotta be a record." Jak smirks and drives us back to Torn's hideout.

"The Demolition Trio has returned!" Dax says as he jumps up onto the map table, "One barbecued ammo dump, served up hot!" Torn just looks at the ottsel with cold eyes.

"We saw something odd while torching that ammo," Jak cuts in, "The Baron's guards were giving barrels filled with _eco_ to a group of _Metalheads_!" Torn's face scrunches up in calculation.

"Really… The Shadow will be very interested to hear that," he says, "You three get some sleep, I'll give you your next mission in the morning." I gratefully slump off to the showers and enjoy the cold water. It may be freezing, but I'm getting clean at least. Daxter rudely knocks on the door to tell me to hurry up and I exit to crouch down and glare into his furry little face. No words, just concentrated annoyance. Daxter gulps and ducks away. I put on a tank top and shorts and climb into a bunk to pass out for the night.

**Wow! This one got really long! I didn't want to cut it off in the middle of the Fortress, but I guess next time we'll stick to two missions… Anyway, please review! I know you're reading this… I see you! Please review! How can I improve my writing if you don't tell me? **


	3. Chapter 3

When I wake up in the morning, neither Jak, nor Daxter are awake. Both are snoring away in the bunk on top of mine. I chuckle at their expense and look to the clothes at the foot of my bed. When I pick up my sweater it practically falls apart from the burns and charred patches it received when we blew up the ammo dump last night. I scowl and throw it in the trash bin, Torn entering just as it sails past him.

"Ammo dump?" he asks, pointing to the sweater in the trash. I nod and he hums a response, walking over to a different bunk and rifling through a desk drawer. He pulls out a brown leather jacket and rifles through a different drawer, this time pulling out darker brown pants and a green shirt. He walks over and hands them to me.

"Here, these should be sturdier than the clothes you raided from the Prison," He says and I grab the pile from him to quickly go and change in the bathroom. The clothes fit nicely: the pants hug my legs and the shirt has just enough room so I can move with ease. The jacket is something that one would only find after hours of searching the markets; the leather is flexible and easy to maneuver in.

I exit to find Torn bent over his table. He gives me a glance and a nod of approval. One good thing is that my armor, goggles and boots survived, so I pull those on as well.

"Hey Torn, hand me your knife," I ask and he plucks it out of the sheath on his back with a wary expression. I swipe it from him, grab my hair in one big handful and slice it off in one fell swoop. Torn actually _yelps_ in surprise, rousing Jak, who almost falls off the top bunk, and Daxter who hits the floor with a thump.

"Who, what?" Jak mumbles, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Just for good measure-and a little sadistic humor-I cut my bangs too. Torn makes another strangled noise before swiping the knife from my hand.

"Precursors Layla, you're going to cut yourself!" Torn hisses quietly before stowing the knife away. I chuckle darkly and turn to Jak, his dark blue eyes sleepily trying to catch up on what just happened.

"What'd you do to your hair?" he asks. I chuckle a little more and wipe the bangs from my eyes.

"Well, since my hair was the most noticeable thing about me, I decided it would be best if I were a little_ less_ noticeable," I explain, "Besides, it was getting annoying, hanging at the back of my knees and I wanted to get rid of that purple edge. I don't want any more reminders of my torture than the monster I already carry inside me." Jak opens his mouth to say something, but Daxter cuts him off.

"Yo, toots, if that was the reason you woke me from a perfectly good dream, then you'll be sorry to know it didn't work," He says, staring at my hair. I grab at the ends and see the couple inches of blue are being invaded by purple, half of it turning violet before it stops.

"Fuck!" I shout and punch the wall, "I hate this dark eco!" I punch the wall once more before Torn grabs my arm.

"You're not doing any good punching my walls," He says with a glare. I sit on the bed with a scowl and Jak goes to the bathroom to change. I continue to scowl at the floor until Jak gets back, taking up a stance across the table from Torn.

"Finally ready Greenies?" Torn mocks Jak and Dax, "I've got a mission that needs speed."

"You know, so far your gigs have been easier than stealing grass form a sleeping yakow!" Daxter says peevishly. _What is that little rodent talking about?!_

"Daxter we nearly got killed _several_ times on the last mission!" I yell at him. He jumps onto the table to give me an annoyed look. _Oh how I'd like to wring his furry little neck_!

"Both of you shut up," Torn orders when I open my mouth to say something cruel, "One of our 'suppliers' needs his payment. Take the Zoomer parked out front and drive it to the Hip Hog saloon in South Town. Ask for Krew, he'll be there. Don't let anything stop you. Once you get there, pump Krew for info about the Metalheads. Krew is wired into the city; he's bound to know something."

"And what, pray tell, is the 'payment'?" I ask, knowing full well it could be something _very_ illegal.

"A bag of eco ore," Torn replies. _Eco ore?! How in Hell did Torn get eco ore?! That shit is rarer to citizens than beauty is to the Slums!_

"You can count on us!" Daxter says when Torn turns to analyze his posters.

"Are you still here?" Torn asks sarcastically. Daxter jumps onto Jak's shoulder as we pass the table. Out front is the promised Zoomer, fastest model there is, with a burlap sack in the basket on the back. _Eco ore in a burlap sack… what could possibly go wrong?_ I think before Jak mounts the Zoomer.

"Hey Jak, why don't I take another Zoomer," I suggest, "Help keep the Guards off your ass."

"Why do _we_ gotta be the main target?!" Daxter yells.

"Because I know the Guards and their patrols upside-down and sideways," I say in his face, "And because I can wring your furry little neck anytime you don't have Jakkie boy here to protect you." Daxter gulps and hides behind Jak's shoulder. Jak gives me a look for threatening his friend but lets it go.

"All right," Jak answers reluctantly, "Hand me the map will you?" I toss him the holo-map and I climb onto an equally fashioned model of Zoomer.

"Bet I'll beat you there!" I shout before starting the Zoomer with a roar of the engine and a puff of smoke as I leave him in my dust! Haha! I hear Daxter yell indignantly and Jak start his own Zoomer to catch up. I laugh loudly as I swerve between citizens in the lower hover zone, Jak taking the higher zone _and_ having to deal with the slow drivers not helping him one bit. I turn the corner and flash the security pass at the scanner to get through the red barrier, Jak and Daxter right behind me so they don't left behind. I dodge people and Guards left and right, most of them getting out of the way of my Zoomer… most of them.

All of a sudden I hear the clank of an automatized cannon coming to life and firing a round of bullets. I feel the red hot pain of a bullet punching a hole through my ear and barely hold in a scream. _Shit! I thought the underground turrets were still experimental!_ I look behind me to see Jak swerve around the large red gun and kick a little more speed out of his Zoomer. He's switched hover zones to avoid the Guards on their gun-mounted vehicles. Guards swarm from everywhere, on the ground and on Cruisers, shooting at us from every angle. They seem to be aiming for Jak, probably because he has the package. I pull up next to him, blocking the Guard's view with my body.

"Jak, hand me the ore!" I yell over the gunshots, "I'll take it to Krew and you get rid of them!" He nods, discreetly handing me the sack and I exchange our bag of random junk in return, Daxter jumping onto my shoulder in the process. I zoom off towards South Town and Jak heads down the streets, drawing the Guards with him.

Without being shot at every second, I make it to South Town with no trouble and stop not too far from the Hip Hog Saloon.

I pick the pocket of a richer citizen as I pass him, his fancy clothes a dead giveaway. I have a feeling collecting cash won't hurt now that I've joined the Underground. Growing up in the Slums has presented me with many skills that I find more and more useful lately. Daxter frowns at me when I look at him, but I just shrug with a smile.

I enter the bar with the sack of eco ore and Daxter takes the lead.

"Let my handle this Layla," Daxter swaggers up to a man in grim armor, "Watch my finesse and style!"

"Don't forget to ask-" I try to say before Daxter cuts me off.

"Everything's cool, nobody panic!" I groan at the stupid weasel. Daxter reaches the dark-skinned man and looks up at him before saying, "Hey big guy!" The warrior scowls at him and Daxter moves on underneath his legs. Out of nowhere, a grotesquely fat man floats-yeah, I said floats- over to Daxter and me. He looks completely repulsive, the only thing worse than his appearance is his smell. I notice Jak walk in behind us and actually flinch when he sees the fat man. He joins us as Daxter starts running his mouth again.

"You Krew?" He asks the fat man, "Well, we shook the heat and your shipment's in primo condition." Krew nods, jiggling his many chins.

"That's good, ey," He wheezes, "A cargo of rare eco ore is worth more than ten of your lives." Krew floats closer to us, his beady pig's eyes running up and down Jak, assessing his worth.  
"Mmmm, and of course I'd be forced to collect… slowly." Daxter Jumps onto my shoulder before Krew zooms in on Jak. "The Underground will take anyone with pulse these days." He turns on me, the same eyes running up my figure. "But they've made step up with you, Guardswoman," He drawls flirtatiously, a shiver of disgust running up my spine.

"I ain't working for the KG, so stuff the compliments," I scowl. Krew scowls at my impertinence then looks at Daxter.

"What have we here? The Shadow's mascot of the month?" He has gotten entirely too close, his fetid breath making me gag. Daxter makes to retort, but Krew drags his hand over Daxter's face. Daxter sticks his tongue out at Krew, but mercifully stays silent.

"Oohh, soft… Sig, this fur would go well with my silk suits, ey?" The warrior in the corner ignores him. _He has suits? __**Silk**__ suits? He doesn't even look like he's changed the shirt he's wearing in a month._ Daxter, unfortunately, decides to be the big business man… um, ottsel.

"Listen, ah, tons of fun, anyone can see that you, uh, and I have the real juice in this burg," He says nervously, losing me at the end, "We're both players, right? We're both looking for a piece of the action, right? I think we can do business, right?" Krew scowls at him and I see Jak slap his hand over his face before taking the lead.

"We did you a favor, now it's your turn. Why is the Baron giving Eco to Metal Heads?" Jak's blunt question angers Krew, earning Jak a face full of Krew's royal fatness.

"Questions like that could get a person killed, ey!" He says, backing off, "Sig! Pay 'el Capitan' here a bonus." Sig, the silent warrior, approaches Jak menacingly. Jak puts his fists up, ready for anything, but Sig hands him a red eco powered scatter gun. Jak grins evilly at the weapon-concerning me slightly- and stows it in the holster on his back.

"If you want to see what that baby can do, try the Gun Course outside. Show me some skill with that piece of hardware and I'll hire you for a job or two, ey?" Krew floats back into his bar, Jak turning to leave but stopping when I don't follow him. He raises an eyebrow but I wave at him to leave.

"Just don't shoot yourself Jak" I yell back at him. _Please, oh please, don't shoot yourself. I don't want to have to carry you back to Torn with a hole in your foot._ He just chuckles quietly and leaves.

Once he's gone I sit at the bar and slap his eco ore on the counter, looking up at Krew with a grimace.

"Oi, FatMan! What about me?" I complain, "The one who actually got your damn shipment here in one piece!" Krew looks at me with his piggy eyes and sighs deeply.

"That depends on what you want," He rasps, "By the way, you're dripping blood on _my_ floor."

"Depends on what _I_ want?" I ask and pretend to think for a second, ignoring the burning pain in my ear, "I guess I'll take a weapon and a bottle of whiskey." Krew laughs at my proposition.

"I like a woman with pluck," He drawls, "I'll give you a weapon and even let you choose, ey? But no liquor, that's for _paying_ customers." I sigh and grab the wallet I stole out of my pocket, taking only a single note out of the bulging wallet. _Damn the dude I robbed was rich! What was he doing in South Town?_ Krew looks at the money in disbelief before snatching it off the counter and replacing it with a decent brand of whiskey.

"Sig will show you the weapons you can choose from," He says offhandedly and floats away. Glad to be rid of the floating bob, I walk over to Sig, taking a swig from the bottle of whiskey.

"Are you even old enough to be drinking, cherry?" He asks in a deep voice. _He talks! Here I was thinkin' he was a mute like Jak was._

"Shut up," I tell him, "I'm nineteen and an outcast of the KG. You should be askin' why I didn't ask for something stronger." Sig chuckles briefly and guides me over to the corner of the bar. He opens a compartment hidden in the wall to reveal a large stash of guns and other weapons. I feel my fingers twitch at the sight of such beautiful weapons; all perfectly shined and ready for use.

"Can't wait to get your hands on some real weaponry, huh?" Sig asks with a chuckle, pointing at my twitching hands, "I shoulda known a KG would appreciate a good weapon when she sees one." I simply smile in return and pick up a blue eco rifle. It is balanced perfectly, a red laser scope mounted on the top for long ranged shots.

"Nice pick," Sig says, "Long range shot that electrocutes on contact. The front even modifies to a short range gun for close encounters." He goes to shut the compartment, but I stop him when something shiny catches my eye. I reach into the hollow and pull out a long, silver-blue sword, curved at the end with a comfortable grip on the hilt. I grin, knowing exactly what Torn will say next time I see him.

"I'm taking this one as well," I tell Sig. He laughs at the childish joy I get from swinging the wide bladed weapon back and forth.

"You only get one weapon, girl!" Krew yells from the back.

"Shove it Krew! I paid double what this whiskey is worth and you know it!" I shout back. Sig raises an eyebrow at my _cojones_ but stays silent this time, handing me the sheath to hook onto my belt. I can hear Krew mumbling from the back about giving weaponry to women.

"Fine!" Krew shouts, "Go join your friend and show me what you got with that rifle, ey. Maybe I'll hire you as well." I exit the bar, glad to be rid of the repulsive Krew. I take another swig from my bottle of whiskey and start walking down the street to the Gun Course. A few citizens look at me like I'm crazy, but most ignore me. Stuffing your nose in other people's business has the risk of death in this city.

The sun is shining brightly for once, not hidden behind clouds like it so often is here. Some cat-like part of myself revels in the warm rays, soaking up as much as I can. I catch a glimpse of myself in a window as I pass, backpedaling to check if I just saw what I thought I saw.

_Damn it! I should have gotten someone else to cut my hair!_ As I look at my reflection, I can't help but think I look like I've just stuck my finger in an electrical socket. My hair feathers out from my head in layers, the blue and purple edges confined to the lower half of my head. While this look may be great on _any_one else, I just look electrocuted, the dark purple not helping the image. I make a sound caught between a sigh and a growl and move on, reaching the Gun Course just as Jak completes it. I look up at the scoreboard and whistle.

"Silver on your first try Jak, that's impressive," I compliment and he smirks.

"You got that right baby!" Daxter says, "My main man here is pretty skilled. He's not quite at my level yet, but he's pretty far up there." I just roll my eyes at the ottsel and show Jak my new gun.

"Like it?" I ask with a broad smile, "I weaseled this and a sword out of Krew." Jak smirks again and nods.

"Where'd you get the booze?" Daxter asks.

"Krew," I explain, "He gave me this for some of the money off the rich guy I pickpocketed. That reminds me, Jak, hand me a rag." Jak digs out a fairly clean rag from our bag and I dump a bit of whiskey on it, suppressing a hiss of pain when I wrap it around the bullet hole in my ear. Jak stares at me like I've gone crazy again and Daxter's jaw drops open.

"Alcohol is a passable disinfectant when you can't find any green eco," I explain to their shocked faces, "Especially for bullet wounds. I doubt it's going to close up, but at least now I've got somewhere to hang an earring." I shrug with a teasing smile and Jak shakes his head. Daxter jumps from his shoulder to mine, grabbing my ear.

"That is one nasty hole," He remarks, examining the wound, "This is just from one bullet?"

"Yeah, I guess. Those underground turrets were still experimental when I was in the Guard," I explain, "I never thought they'd install them in the city. I thought they were making them for defense out on the front lines. Now stop _**touching**_it!" Daxter jumps off my shoulder at my yell and grumbles.

"You don't have to be so touchy about it," He whines.

"I'm gonna do a run through of the course," I say with a sigh, "Wait for me?" Jak nods and I open a few boxes to gather ammo. I step up to the entrance and press the start button. The clock above it counts down from ten. At the end of the count down, the doors whoosh open and I dive through, open firing on all the enemy cutouts.

The pattern is pretty easy to figure out. Shoot, shoot, shoot, no shoot, shoot, no shoot, repeat. Citizen cutouts pop up in an ever increasing frequency the closer I get to the end, but it's a breeze to avoid them. My gun doesn't jam once, fluidly shooting each Metalhead cutout, one after another in a high firing rate for a rifle. Sometimes the sparks from my bullets even take out the next target for me. Even with this being my first challenge, a few of the cutouts actually fire back, forcing me to dodge, duck, dip, dive and roll to avoid an accident that could earn me another bullet hole. One more Metalhead cutout is blown to bits before I've reached the end of the course, not one citizen hit, only three gold cutouts missed.

I exit and look back up to my score, a solid gold!

"Oh yeah! High five!" I shout and turn back to Jak with my hand raised. He smacks it with a smirk and Daxter looks impressed for once.

"Good job Layla," Jak compliments, "You did better than me."

"_That_ is how Krimzon Guards are supposed to be," I reply, "Not the idiots that can't hit the broad side of a barn that walk the streets now.

"Let's be glad they aren't," Daxter says, "We got enough problems without them being able to hit what they shoot at."

"Well, we should probably head back to Krew's," I say grudgingly, "Let's see if we can get some money out of the jobs he could offer us." Jak nods and we head back out onto the street.

As we walk, I offer Jak a bit of my whiskey, but he only takes one sip before handing back with a face. I laugh and take a large swig myself.

"Hey, what about me?!" Daxter whines.

"I don't know what alcohol would do to a weasel, but I don't plan on finding out soon," I reply, teasing Dax by taking another sip. He huffs and pouts on Jak's shoulder, muttering something about being an ottsel. Jak chuckles and I laugh with him, enjoying the light mood while it lasts.

"Hey Layla," Jak catches my attention, "Why do KG disappear when we take them out?" I glance sidelong at Jak, remembering our first day out of Prison, a.k.a. yesterday, and the monsters that came with it.

"Defense mechanism in the armor," I explain, "So that none of the mortally wounded are left behind, or discovered by the enemy to be used against us." Jak looks almost disgusted at the fact, his face scrunching into an indecipherable expression.

"That's just weird," Daxter remarks.

"So says the talking weasel," I retort.

"I'm an _**ottsel**_!" He yells back, making me chuckle. We continue walking slowly, trying just to enjoy the day rather than rush to the next mission someone hands us. We nearly got blown up yesterday. So, we deserve a day to ourselves.

"Hey Jak, what's your home like?" I ask on a whim. He smiles wistfully and shakes his head. "Don't wanna talk about it? I guess I understand. We _only_ met two years ago." I tease, but Jak just pushes my shoulder to make me shut up.

"Well, speaking for myself," Daxter cuts in, "None of the girls could keep their hands off of me. Each girl in the village would hang on my every word." Both Jak and I burst out laughing. I highly doubt what he just said and Jak's laughter just proves my doubt.

Out of nowhere I feel a heavy hand land on my shoulder. Without thinking I turn, shove my knee into the person's groin, followed by a punch to the gut and finished with a punch to the jaw, the bone cracking loudly. The man who just surprised me now lies on the ground, flapping his mouth open and closed to get some air back into his lungs while he curls up into a ball to protect what's left of the family jewels.

It's not until after all of this, I notice he's outfitted in KG gear. Thankfully he's not wounded enough to disintegrate, but I better think quick before he calls his buddies. I grab Jak' s hand and turn to run, but what the Guard says paralyzes me on the spot.

"L-Layla… It's… me…" He says between gasps of air, his deep voice familiar.

"Oh fuck!" I shout before hauling up the man against his will, "Tristran!" Tristran groans and holds the side of his face.

"Dam it Layla, yu made me bide my thongue," He berates me, lifting up his face plate, revealing his green eyes, beaky nose and checkered KG tattoos. I don't care what he has to say, I wrap my arms around his armor and squeeze him as hard as I can.

"Precursors, Tristran!" I smile up at the six-and-a-half foot tall boy, excuse me, young _man_. I guess neither of us are _that_ young anymore. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

"Ith's gud to thee yu too," He garbles, "Though, nexth time I won't thneak up on yu... Precurthors, I thought yu were dead." I bury my face in his armor, finally glad to see a friendly face that isn't barking orders. Of course, Daxter has to ruin the moment.

"Yo, toots, who's the Guard?" Daxter shouts suspiciously. I turn back to them to see Jak eyeing Tristran with distrust and Daxter thumping his foot on Jak's shoulder annoyingly.

"A friend," I reply tersely, pointedly looking at the distrusting Jak "Tristran, before we go any further, please tell me you're not going to turn us in." His bottomless, forest green eyes stare back down into mine with a shine and a sarcastic smile.

"I'm appalled that you would jump to that conclusion," He mocks me, "Don't worry, Sparky, I work for the Underground. I ain't gonna report you or your colorful friends." He bends over to whisper in my ear, "When'd you meet a talking weasel?"

"**OTTSEL**!" Daxter shouts, "I'm an **OTTSEL**!" I laugh and hug Tristran once more.

"It's a long story and I don't have time to tell it," I lean in to whisper to him, "Come to HQ tonight and I'll tell ya." Jak makes a noise of impatience and I just hold up a finger to shush him. "I've missed you Tristran. I'll see you later, right?" He nods and pulls me into his enveloping embrace for one last hug before he sets off in the opposite direction. I stare after him, not realizing I have a goofy smile plastered on my face until Daxter has to open his big mouth.

"Layla and Tristran sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i—" I cut him off with a slap upside the back of his head.

"Let's get back to the Hip Hog," I say to Jak, noting his wary look in Tristran's direction, "I want to see the look on Krew's face when he sees our scores on the Gun Course." I smile wickedly and Jak just smirks when he stops staring after Tristran.

We set off back down the road, towards the bar.

Jak may not have genuinely smiled or laughed since I met him, but I plan on changing that. Sure he's chuckled at Daxter and me, sure he's smirked and grinned, but not once has he smiled with true happiness. Maybe someday, after we take out the Baron, things will go back to normal. Then, just maybe, we could relax. But for now, to my dread, we're going to have to work ourselves to the bone. My only worry is trying to contain the monster inside me; the one I barely handled when Tristran scared me. My tenuous hold on the monster scares me worse than anything the Baron could think of.

**And so ends Chapter Three! Just want to let you know, I'm writing this as I play the game, so anything that may not seem parallel to the end of the game is just gonna be like it is. I also want to say something else… HOLY CARP! I have FOLLOWERS! You have no idea how happy that makes me! Pleeeeeeze review! I can see you out there in Reality, sitting at your computer and reading this note. See! Right there, you're reading this right NOW! Please review! **


End file.
